March 22, 2009

IPL to be played outside India

The second season of the Indian Premier League will not be held in India. At the BCCI working commitee meeting today in Mumbai, a decison was taken to stage the tournament outside the country, due to extraordinary circumstances.

"Under the given circumstances, the BCCI is not in a position to either play a truncated IPL or to cancel the second edition of the IPL. It is a matter of great regret that, in the prevailing atmosphere, where the government is expressing concern for providing security to the IPL matches, the BCCI is left with no other option but to conduct the Indian Premier League in another country," the board stated in a media release.

England, South Africa and the MIddle East have emerged as the frontrunners to host the event. Discussions between the BCCI and the respective boards will get underway and a decison is likely in two to three days. "All 59 games will begin at 4:00 pm IST and the second game will begin at 8:00 pm IST as per schedule," said Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner. He also said there will be no changes made to the format or the schedule. An official announcement is expected soon.